Land degradation corresponds to a reduction in the capacities of land to provide goods and services to the ecosystem and its beneficiaries.

It is characterized by a reduction in the content of nutrient organic elements in soils, which leads to a loss of fertility and disruptions in water drainage systems. It is caused by climate variations and anthropogenic actions which lead to an alteration of ecosystems in arid areas.

This phenomenon affects both biodiversity and the social and economic conditions of populations. It jeopardizes the livelihoods of a billion people on Earth. It is related to the phenomena of desertification and deforestation.
 

The action led by FFEM is fully in line with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

FFEM gives priority to financing projects that improve the resilience of ecosystems or contribute to the fight against desertification. It specifically focuses on the development of sustainable agricultural production systems.

It primarily takes action in the region represented by the Member States of the Observatory of the Sahara and the Sahel, by supporting local projects which aim to support the resilience of ecosystems through the development of sustainable agricultural production systems (conservation agriculture, agroecology), via the promotion of local initiatives and the rational management of natural resources.

FFEM takes action in two sub-areas related to land degradation:

• The fight against desertification
• And the fight against deforestation

FFEM projects target as a priority the fight against desertification and land degradation, as well as the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to agricultural activities, deforestation and forest degradation. They thereby focus on several types of operation:

• The development and dissemination of agroforestry techniques for the conservation of water, soils and trees, and their adaptation to ecological, agronomic, socioeconomic and cultural contexts in drylands
• Support for the diversity of production systems and the combination of agricultural and non-agricultural stratégies
• The development of watershed and ecosystem management
• The securing of mobility and pastoral systems
• Environmental surveillance and early warning systems related to agricultural issues
• Strengthening the sustainability of oasis systems
• Community-based natural resources management and the empowerment of rural communities.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are twelve dangerous substances (pesticides, industrial chemical products, chemical by-products) with long life spans which migrate into soils and water, sometimes over very long distances. They build up throughout the food chain and are ingested by living beings for which they cause immune problems and genetic defects.

These POPs pose strong threats to the environment, but also and especially to health, with serious impacts, in particular during pregnancy.

FFEM aligns its action with the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes. Mercury is also included in the field of chemical pollutants, according to the principles of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

It has been taking action to prevent and eliminate these pollutants since 2004.